Huge Quake Hit Chile, Tsunami Headed for Hawaii – Updated

Update 2: It’s a little after 6:00 PM ET. I heard that Hawaii may have dodged a bullet this time. I certainly hope so.

Update: The Washington Post has more on Hawaii’s emergency response plans. The wave is supposed to hit at 11:05 local time/4:05 Eastern Time.

The New York Times reported a major earthquake has hit Chile.

A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital of Santiago for 90 seconds and sending tsunami warnings along much of the Pacific basin.

Chile’s TVN cable news channel was reporting 122 deaths, with the toll expected to rise, as communications were still spotty around the center of quake, near the city of Concepción in the south. Chile President Michelle Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe.”

The Associated Press quoted Mrs. Bachelet as saying that a huge wave had swept into a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles off the Chilean coast, but there were no immediate reports of major damage there. Those reports bore out early fears that a major tsunami was on its way across the Pacific.

A Department of Homeland Security official said early Saturday that FEMA was monitoring the situation and was in contact with state emergency personnel in Hawaii, which is under a tsunami warning. But the decision to evacuate coastal areas and handling this evacuation is the responsibility of state and local officials in Hawaii, the Homeland Security official said.

The quake downed buildings and houses in Santiago and knocked out a major bridge connecting the northern and southern sections of the country.

Hopefully the people of Hawaii have time to get out of harm’s way. My prayers go out to all of those affected.

CNN reported that this earthquake was much stronger than the one that hit Haiti.

Via Breitbart
Via memeorandum
Fox News has more information.